In China, Tech Perks Include Programming Cheerleaders

It's no major news that tech jobs come loaded with punishing hours, a high-stress workload, and little opportunity to socialize while toiling away behind a glowing wall of screens.

Well, according to Trending In China, some Chinese startups have begun to address the problem by hiring female "programming cheerleaders" to incentivize employees. Huh? Can I hire someone to shoo the misogyny away?

According to the government-authorized news source, the cheerleaders' jobs involve "buying programmers breakfast, chitchatting, and playing ping-pong with them." One Internet company that hired three such cheerleaders reported "improved job efficiency and motivation." Apparently, programmers are so overworked they don't even the time for a single cat video.

Though, If you think this case of inequality and vague sexism in the tech industry is specific to China, look no further than Silicon Valley-based tech behemoth Facebook, who released a report this summer, detailing that 70% of its employees are men. Maybe they could use some women around the office, too.